Ghost of a Chance
by Tsume Yuki
Summary: Naruto's been able to see ghosts since the end of the war. Or more accurately, just the one ghost. Uchiha Itachi's shade just won't leave her alone. And worse, he's growing on her. Eventual ItachixNaruto FemNaruto
1. Prologue

**Ghost of a Chance**

 ** _Prologue_** **  
**

 _x_

It happened the second she stepped back inside the newly rebuilt walls of Konoha.

She'd never had a problem like it before, and as such, she didn't really notice it right away. Too high on the victory of the war, too please with the fact so many people managed to survive -not Obito, not Neji, not her own arm- to really take note of the one stark difference.

And dear Sage, was it a stark difference.

Had she been paying any attention, as she should have been doing, Naruto was sure she'd have noticed the problem right away.

It wasn't until the next day, when Sasuke had shown up at the door to her hospital room, that Naruto recognised the very, very obvious dilemma she now had on her hands.

Well, that was putting it politely.

Laid up in hospital with a stump for an arm, matching Sasuke as if she were his blonde, female mirror, Naruto had cheerfully called for her teammate to entre.

Sakura was off with Shizune, studying the substance the Zetsu clones had been made from in the hopes that prosthetic arms could be made for the two of them. Because otherwise, their careers as ninja were in trouble. Not to mention that it'd been her right arm that'd been blown off in her last fight with Sasuke. She kinda needed that for when she started signing documents as the next Hokage.

Grimacing down at the little stub in question, Naruto had returned her gaze to the door when Sasuke opened it.

And then she had shattered everybody's eardrums with her scream.

.

In all fairness, she was allowed a panic attack, having just stepped out of the war, off of the battlefield, and into what could be called 'civilian life'.

The medic's assumed it was some kind of trauma from seeing Sasuke so soon after their fight. But Naruto knew otherwise. She didn't have a problem with the boy she'd lost an arm to. He'd come to his senses eventually, he'd helped them stop the war. That was what mattered to her.

She didn't have a problem with Sasuke at all.

The undead shade of his older brother floating next to him?

Yeah, that she did have a problem with.

* * *

 **I've read quite a few 'Naruto see's dead people' stories, even a few with FemNaruto. But I've not read one that's set after the war, not yet anyway. So I wrote my own.**

 **Aside from Naruto and Itachi, this'll be Canon pairings -oh, and Hinata and Kiba will be together because obviously Naruto's female here- I'm not a big fan of SasuSaku (** I really think that Sakura should have grown out of Sasuke, it was suppose to be her ultimate development in my eyes, her last character building block **) but I'll give it my best shot at writing it. Because Salada is adorable. But I'm keeping my eye on the new Naruto manga, so this'll hopefully end up somewhat accurate to that timeline.**

 **.**

 **Anyway, with this, I'm going for** **something** **a little different. I've only got the loosest of ideas of what events will take place in the next chapter, so if you wanna suggest something you think we should see -** ie, Naruto getting some closure with the Hyuga's over Neji's death **\- then by all means drop me a review to say.**

 **.**

 **Coming up next chapter;**

 _In which Naruto slowly comes to terms with her new ability to see dead people -one dead person really, but who's counting?- and Itachi figures out that the afterlife might not be as boring as he'd thought it to be._

 **Tsume  
xxx**


	2. Resolve

**Ghost of a Chance**

 ** _Chapter 1  
_** _In which Naruto slowly comes to terms with her new ability to see dead people -one dead person really, but who's counting?- and Itachi figures out that the afterlife might not be as boring as he'd thought it to be._

x

She fled the hospital as soon as she could. Which, considering Tsunade was busy off at the Hokage Tower and thus not present to man her battle station against her, was rather soon.

Blonde pigtails snapped about as the air raced through them and Naruto cursed her lack of balance, losing the weight of an arm on your right side appeared to do that for you. Once again, she cursed her current lack of fingers, unable to so much as create a shadow clone to aid her escape.

Her mind was whirling. It was all suppose to be over now, it was suppose to go back to normal. No more wars, no more Uchihas popping up out of the woodwork, certainly no more dead people. And yet, she already had two of the three happening right here.

Naruto ducked into her new apartment through the open window, slamming it shut and making a beeline for the bed.

Once there, she burrowed beneath the thick covers, pressing her face into the pillow and sucking in deep breaths, each one whistling through her teeth. One hand clenched at the bed sheet beneath and hot tears gathered in the corner of her eyes at the fact she couldn't do the same with her right hand because her right hand was no more.

The stump had healed over nicely, it wasn't as tender as it'd been when the flesh had been freshly healed. But it was still the most delicate part of her body, the one that throbbed with pain if she put too much pressure on it, caught it at the wrong angle. Naruto hated it.

Screaming, the pillow muffled the sound and Naruto whimpered beneath her breath once again. She needed to figure out what was going on, she needed to figure out what had just happened. But to do that, first she needed to calm down.

.

It took her five minutes of meditation, of calm and steady breathing, before Naruto felt even remotely ready to start tackling the problem at hand. With Kurama sleeping right now, attempting to recover his chakra, that left just her to figure out what was going on.

Standing up, the blonde made her way over to her desk, pulling out a piece of paper and picking up a pencil as she went. It felt decidedly odd to be holding a pencil in her left hand, twirling it back and forth between her fingers. Sure, the academy trained them to be able to write with both their hands, but it had been a while since Naruto had last exercised that skill.

With a sigh, the blonde dropped down into a seat, drumming her fingers against her lower lip as she thought.

Right, she needed to take stock of what had happened, what information she already had.

First thing first, Uchiha Itachi was currently in the village. He'd been stood beside Sasuke, but no one else had been able to see him. She liked to think there would have been a stronger reaction had anyone else spotted the Uchiha. Especially since no one but herself, Kakashi and Sasuke knew the truth.

For now.

One of Sasuke's demands had been a declaration of Itachi's innocence, for the truth to come out so the village could know just how good a protector it had lost. Naruto didn't have a problem with that.

What she did have a problem with was the fact Itachi was dead and yet, somehow still around.

He'd been stood by Sasuke's side, a sad smile on his face as he watched his younger brother in that short glimpse that Naruto had gotten of him.

She knew for certain Uchiha Itachi was dead. Very dead. Sasuke had the man's eyes in his skull for god's sake, he couldn't be anything other than dead.

And yet, he'd still been stood there, neither alive nor dead. He wasn't resurrected as he had been in the war, the sclera of his eyes hadn't been black, no cracks had been painted across his skin.

All the same, he'd not been alive. He'd been transparent. Like a ghost.

Naruto squirmed in discomfort.

She really, really did not like the idea of ghosts. Ghosts were not suppose to exist, it wasn't allowed Why didn't the Uchiha seemed to understand that his presence here was not allowed?

And why was it only Itachi?

Where was everyone else? All the souls of the dead who'd died in the war, all those that, like Itachi, had been brought back and forced to fight? Why was it only the Uchiha she could see?

And why was it only she who could see him? Not even Sasuke, who would've made more sense with his Rinnegan, appeared to be able to see his brother. That would have been much more logical an option than her.

Sighing harshly, Naruto reached up to grip at her ponytails, a nervous habit that'd formed years ago in childhood, and then let out a desperate cry when she realized only her left ponytail would be getting tugged. Because her right hand was still gone.

Sakura and Tsunade needed to hurry up with that prosthetic, Naruto didn't know how much more of this she could take, reaching for something and not being able to pick it up with her first choice of limb. Sometimes she could still feel her fingers, phantom digits that twitched to her desires, that tricked her mind into believing her arm was still there.

Pushing herself away from the table, Naruto stared down at the small nine tailed fox she'd been absentmindedly doodling onto the paper in front of her, a bittersweet smile crossing her lips.

She couldn't wait until Kurama woke up, the fox would know what was going on, this was like, his area of expertise. The strange and unnatural. And what was more unnatural than a ghost?

Nothing as far as Naruto was concerned.

Plucking up a plain orange sundress and a fresh pair of undergarments, Naruto disappeared into her bathroom, ready for a shower to work the kinks out of her back. Those hospital beds were in no way, shape or form comfortable.

.

Head under the spray of the shower, Naruto watched the dark blonde strands gather, fanning about to form a curtain before her breasts, water dripping from their ends.

For years she'd kept her hair short, to keep the villagers from grabbing it, to keep the enemy from grabbing it. But then, then Jiraiya had come along, come along and told her all about her mother, who had worn her brilliant red hair long, as long as her calves.

And so, Naruto had gained a new goal. To grow her hair out, to let it grow as far as she could deal with. it now came to rest mid way down her back after four solid years of growing it, and she didn't plan to stop there. She wanted it to go at least to mid thigh, as homage to her mother, in the same way her orange and black flame cloak was a nod to her father.

Even if she hadn't known it when the toads had passed on Jiraiya's last gift.

Flicking the long strands back over her shoulder, Naruto snatched up the shampoo bottle, scowling when she realized she had to squirt the substance directly onto her head. Sure, she'd been trained to use her left hand, but that was with the impression she'd be on infiltration, posing as someone who preferred to use their left hand over their right. She was not trained to handle a missing limb.

There was so much more she had to think over now, and it was not pleasant.

Rinsing the suds from her hair, Naruto played with the idea of leaving the shower right away, but knew that the second Sakura or Ino or even Tenten saw her they'd be furious about her lack of conditioner usage.

As a fresh genin, Naruto hadn't bothered too much about her boy short hair, washing it thoroughly with soap every few days and leaving it at that.

Unfortunately, when she grew it out long, apparently that meant she had to take better care of it, according to her fellow females. Even Hinata had agreed, and the Hyūga were unofficially the best at hair care in all of Konoha.

With a sigh, the blonde quickly returned the shampoo bottle to the shower basin, plucking up the conditioner.

The things she went through so her friends wouldn't yell at her.

.

Water droplets still dripping from her hair, Naruto scoffed as she walked out of the bathroom, swearing under her breath as she did so. Putting up pigtails was so much harder with only one hand. No, wait, it was impossible.

Snarling, the blonde threw the bobble to the floor, tears of shame burning in the corner of her eyes. What if Sakura never figured out the prosthetic? Would she be stuck like this forever, not even able to tie her own hair up?

Chomping down on her lip in order to stop the tears, Naruto turned her gaze to the kitchenette of her room, and then stopped cold. There was someone in her apartment, someone who should most certainly not be there.

Uchiha Itachi glanced back at her, in an almost nervous manner that spoke volumes on his usually emotionless face. Naruto could feel her ribs expanding outwards as she drew in a sharp, shocked breath, heart beating horrendously fast in her chest.

"My apologises Naruto-chan, I did not wish to invite myself in, but given the circumstances…" Itachi trailed off, evidently taking in her rapidly beating heart, the way her one hand was clenched up in panic.

Slowly he raised his hands, placing them on either side of his head. A surrender position. Not hands up and free like the civilian police used, seeing as a skill ninja would be able to fly through handseal before another could blink. With the fingers curled up and around the skull, it'd take a second long for hand seals to be formed, a second she could use to her advantage.

Still, Naruto's breath was caught in her throat, and she hacked a cough, trying to voice her thoughts.

"A-are you a ghost?"

The Uchiha stared back at her for a second, then his eyes -dark eyes, not the Sharingan- turned to gaze upon his obliquely transparent hands.

"I believe so. Though I have met no other like me, nor has anyone been able to see me. All except for you."

There was a lull in the conversation as Naruto digested what she'd been told. So, she'd been thinking the right thing earlier today then? He really was the only ghost around? And, and she was the only one that could see him?

Stumbling over to the kettle, Naruto struggled for a few minutes to fill it up with water, to open her cup ramen.

Eventually though she made it to the table with her steaming snack, sitting herself down, kicking out the chair opposite her as she did so. Itachi appeared hesitant to move, but at her jerky gesture, carefully took a seat. Naruto tried not to grimace when his hand passed through the table as he did so. They sat quiet for a moment, Naruto clicking her chopsticks together for a second, and then repeating the action as her mind whirled, trying to find something to say.

Thankfully though, it appeared that Itachi was going to fill the silence, before he leaned back slightly, cautious of going too far and phasing right through the chair.

Naruto shuddered.

"Thank you Naruto-chan. For bringing Sasuke home."

Warmth that had nothing to do with her cup ramen hit her stomach and Naruto looked away, feeling the heat rise on her cheeks.

"I just gave him a little push."

Itachi's soft smile dimmed slightly, looking quite blatantly at her upper right arm, which wasn't attached to anything else.

"No, you did not. Thank you, for taking your promise so seriously."

Rubbing sheepishly at the back of her neck, Naruto shuffled about on her seat, watching Itachi attempt to rest his elbow on the table, only to pass right through it. From the man's pinched expression, this had happened a few time already.

"Wh-why are you a ghost?" Naruto grimaced.

She really, really did not want to end up a ghost herself. When she went, she was going to the same place as her parents. But not before she'd lived a good long life, until she'd done right by Kurama, but the Leaf Village and by all her friends.

"I believe it has something to do with the circumstances of Edo Tensei. Due to the influence of Shisui's eye, the implanted will, I have concluded that my soul has been cut off from the Pure World, so to speak. When Kabuto was forced to release the jutsu, it only released the hold that kept my soul tied to the sacrificed body."

"So you're stuck here?" Naruto summed up, mouth having popped open in horror at the thought. The Pure World was suppose to be the end, the place after death. Her parents were there, and she didn't doubt that Itachi's were. To be cut off from family, and for his only family to not know he was here-

"Wait! I've gotta tell Sasuke you're here!" Naruto shot to her feet, squeaking when her ramen almost toppled free of its confines.

"No Naruto-chan. If Sasuke were to know I was here, he would not live his own life. He would attempt to live for me, from a misplaced sense of guilt. Please do not inform him."

The blonde's brows puckered, a frown forming across her lips as she slowly sat back down.

"Think about this objectively Naruto-chan, were Sasuke suddenly able to speak to your mother, would you be able to go on, knowing he could relay any message she had to you, would you be able to go about your day, knowing it was Sasuke who could interact with her, not you?"

Naruto opened her mouth to argue, but closed it after a seconds pause. Itachi was right. No, it wasn't fair on all three of them, not at all. Sasuke was just starting to build his life up again, she couldn't pull this on him, not right now. Not while the both of them were still recovering from the loss of their arms.

Drumming her chopsticks upon the rim of her ramen cup, Naruto looked across at the spectre of the man sat opposite her. To know that he'd sacrificed so much to keep the peace of the Leaf Village, and was suffering for that, even now… She didn't like it. Why did they all get to live happily, when Itachi couldn't even have his peace in death? It wasn't right, it certainly wasn't fair.

Inhaling another mouthful of ramen, the blonde's brow creased as she thought, looking over at Itachi once again.

The dark haired male was politely looking away from her, staring out the window and watching over the village with the softest of smiles on his face. He really did love this place.

Naruto's heart leapt up into her throat, hardening her resolve.

It was decided then. While she was waiting for Kurama to wake up, while she was waiting for the world to recover from war, she'd help Itachi get his peace. She'd help him move on to the Pure World as he wanted, so that he could have what he'd fought so hard for them to keep.

It made perfect sense to her. Ninja had invented ways to summon the souls back from the Pure World, surely sending one back wasn't that difficult?

And if it was, she wasn't Konoha's most unpredictable ninja for nothing. That much, she knew for truth. Hell, she was going to need to do some research, lots of research. She needed clones. Which meant-

"I need to see a woman about an arm." Naruto declared, getting to her feet and throwing her empty ramen cup into the bin. Dark eyes tracked her movement across the flat, watching as she put her sandals on. Naruto was sure he didn't miss the way her right arm twitched, wanting to help, but no longer able. Twisting this way and that to make sure her footgear was on correctly, Naruto turned to look at her unexpected guest, frowning at the blonde hair that attempted to get in her way.

"Are you coming with?" Itachi got to his feet smoothly. He clearly hadn't been a ghost for very long, considering he took the time to step back and away from the table, instead of just walking right through it. Naruto tried not to grimace at the thought.

"You are the only one I can interact with Naruto-chan."

"But don't you wanna watch over Sasuke?"

That made more sense in her mind. Itachi had done everything for Sasuke, had given up everything for the boy.

"Sasuke is in a better place then he has been for years. I need not observe his every movement."

Acknowledging the dead man with a nod of her head, Naruto spun on heels, playing with the idea of leaving via window but deciding it was perhaps best she used the door until she had a second arm again.

She hoped she'd have a second arm again. Zetsu's clone cells had been good enough to give Obito use of his body again, surely that meant Tsunade, the greatest medic in the elemental nations, could turn it all into something that she could use?

Naruto crossed her fingers and hoped reverently that such a thing was true. She really, really did not like the idea of only having one arm forever.

"Please refrain from informing anyone of my presence Naruto-chan."

Glancing back at the Uchiha as she locked the door up, Naruto gave a small smile, determination burning even stronger in her stomach.

She would see him free of this latest torture, that she promised.

"Will do Itachi."

* * *

Being back in the Leaf Village was both his antidote and his poison.

It was incredible, to walk through the streets again. But to not truly be there, to not enjoy the peace they were experiencing, to be unable to interact with his brother who was steady for the first time in years…

It hurt.

Pleasure, at seeing the village at the calmest it had ever been, but pain, over not being able to fully appreciate it.

He was neither dead nor alive.

It'd been that way since his temporary body had flaked away, since his spirit had remained alongside Sasuke as the body dropped to the floor.

Unseen, unheard.

Neither present or absent.

He had taken to following Sasuke, as no other option had presented itself during that time he'd stood by a frozen Kabuto's side, unable to do anything. He'd made his way to the Leaf, had shed tears over his sibling's missing him. Even more so when he noticed the matching injury that Naruto sported.

But the girl had been true to her word, had brought Sasuke back to the village. Had fixed him, even if his brother was still very obviously fragile. He should really have a handle with care stick slapped over him.

Only Naruto seemed capable of bringing out the best in him, though Itachi really wasn't that surprised. From what he'd heard, what he'd seen, Naruto had brought out the best in everyone. It was why there was now peace. Tentative, infant peace, but peace all the same.

Only Sasuke, Sasuke was the only one that Itachi would prefer to see him. Naruto, there was no better person than Naruto, it was only Itachi's love for his little brother that had him believing otherwise.

When he had followed Sasuke to the girl's hospital room, he'd instantly clocked on to her the moment those blue eyes landed on his form. She had seen him. Looking right at him, at this body that was both here and not. And she had panicked.

Itachi had been quick to work out it was a childish fear of ghosts, but since Edo Tensei had been used so liberally in the war, he didn't doubt that more than one ninja had walked away with a fear of the undead. He'd given her space, meanwhile mulling over what to say to the girl.

What could he say? Thank you was obviously going to be the first thing on his list. She'd stopped the war, she'd saved lives, the village. She'd saved Sasuke. Itachi couldn't even begin to describe the gratitude that welled within him over such a thing.

To ask her not to tell his little brother had hurt. But he knew Sasuke wouldn't be able to leave alone. He would badger Naruto to be their middle man, to stand between their conversations. And the blonde would be too kind, too polite to say no. He didn't want that for the whiskered teen, she'd already done more than enough for them. For all of them. He refused to add more to her workload.

Instead, he'd began to look at what he was able to do in this form.

The answer had been obvious. He wanted to help his village, even if it was from the shadows, from this in-between world he was now stuck in. And as a ghost, no one would be able to stop him from snooping now. Naruto could relay the information.

He could still keep the village safe.

New purpose burned bright inside of him, the idea taking root almost instantly. Yes, it sounded good. If he wasn't allowed to move on, if he had to repent for his sins, then he would do it the only way he knew how.

By protecting that which he held dear.

.

Phasing through another person the street, Itachi grimaced. Just because he could pass through people, it did not mean his sense of touch had disappeared. He could not just actively move things, could not make an impression upon anything.

He could still feel the slick muscle of the human body, the sharp corners of a wooden table.

The silken blonde strands of Naruto's hair as she ran ahead of him, greeting every person that took the time to acknowledge her. And there were quite a few.

It was obvious why Naruto was taking this whole ghost business so well. She was at the end of her tether, struggling to handle the fact she only had one arm now. With a ghost haunting the village, well, that was something she was clearly content on ignoring for at the moment.

He'd seen the way what remained of her arm had twitched, watching as it tried to aid it's match, but had been unable to.

Something heavy sat in his stomach, well aware that it was because of Sasuke's ideals, ideals that were unfortunately twisted; this was the cause of Naruto's injury. Of his little brother's injury.

He'd seen his younger sibling cry when he thought there'd been no one in his hospital room. Itachi had forced himself to stand vigil by his brother's bedside, aware that had he made a better choice, had he handled the situation with Sasuke better, then maybe his baby brother wouldn't be missing a limb right now.

That Naruto wouldn't be missing one either.

Had he not tried to do everything on his own, had he accepted help instead of going solo, had he only just trusted in others as much as he had his own abilities… Things might have turned out for the better.

"Itachi?"

Snapping his gaze up to look at the whiskered blonde that'd stopped just outside of the Hokage's office, the Uchiha forced his expression to soften, to remove itself from his bitter thoughts.

Naruto stared back at him for a second, blue eyes dripping with curious suspicion, but nevertheless she accepted the fact he wasn't going to say anything.

Instead, she turned on her heels, pushing open the door to the Hokage's office and striding into the whirlwind as if it weren't there.

Itachi followed in a somewhat more cautious manner, each and every ninja passing him by without so much of a first glance, never mind a second. He'd grown use to it, these past three days, but it could still catch him off guard even now, it could still sting. It had been a long, long time since people had ignored him in such a manner, a long time since no one had been watching.

He noted Naruto's expression, shocked and quite clearly confused. She'd obviously been hoping she wasn't the only one to see him. Itachi was unsure why it was only her, he still didn't have an answer over that, no matter how much he pondered such a thing.

"Baa-chan! Is my new arm done yet?"

Itachi snorted, unable to help himself. He'd heard rumours, but this was the first time that he'd actually been able to witness Naruto address the Hokage as something so familiar as 'Baa-chan'.

The girl shot him a funny look, but continued onwards regardless.

"I wanna go on an adventure."

The busty blonde Hokage, who'd previously been snapping out orders before Naruto's exuberant entrance, paused, sharp honey eyes assessing every inch of her fellow blonde.

"Excuse me?"

"I've got some questions that I want answers to. I wanna go on a journey of self discovery. Like Pervy Sage did. But I need an arm for that." As if to empathize her point, Naruto waves her stump up and down, reminding Itachi rather forlornly of a chicken.

It was not the kind of action he'd associate with the strongest ninja in the world. And she was, his brother a close second. It was Naruto's will, her charisma, that won her that title. She'd never lost when it really counted.

"Konoha is recovering from war, the citizens are insecure and this peace thing is as fragile as Hyūga Hinata's pre-Chũnin exam confidence, and you want to just leave?"

Naruto spluttered, eyes darting around the room in an effort to keep from looking at him. Itachi was surprised to find out it was amusement bubbling away in his stomach. He had no idea what Naruto had been expecting, but this kind of reaction clearly wasn't it.

"Please Baa-chan? I'll stop by all the villages and make sure everything's running right, and if you fix me up with a new arm I'll be able to defend myself just fine! You can call it a diploc- diplowam-"

"Diplomatic?" Itachi offered drily, watching as Naruto straightened, flipping him the bird behind her back with her one good arm and thus, out of view from Tsunade.

"A diplomatic mission!"

The Hokage heaved a sigh, nursing her temples with one hand, the other twitching for something. Itachi's sharp gaze picked up on the shape her fingers attempted to form, not the kind of grip required for a kunai, but something leaning more towards, a bottle?

Well, if his information was correct then Tsunade was still a notorious a drunk as she'd been before taking up the hat. He trusted his instincts that much at least.

"So you'll let me?"

"Fine brat! Stop by in morning and we'll talk it over. Now I've gotta go look at those blasted cells again."

Naruto let out a cheer of victory, spinning on the spot and shooting out towards the door. Itachi didn't miss the way she reached out to snatch up his wrist, but remembering at the last second she'd just pass right through him.

' _Well_ ,' he mused, following after the young woman that was making a beeline to the new market place, ' _at least this in-between won't be terribly boring_ '.

* * *

**Thought I'd get the first chapter out before I disappear to finish off some Uni work for the next few days. So, here we go. I'm aiming fro about 5,000 words per chapter in this fic, give or take 500. Thoughts?**

 **.**

 **Coming up next chapter;**

 _In which Naruto once again totals four limbs, and Itachi gets suspicious on Naruto's sudden desire to see more of the world._

 **Tsume  
xxx**


	3. Muse

**Ghost of a Chance**

 ** _Chapter 2  
_** _In which Naruto once again totals four limbs, and Itachi gets suspicious on Naruto's sudden desire to see more of the world._

x

Naruto woke up in the morning a bundle of excitement. Finally, finally, today she would be getting her arm back. Hopefully.

Looking down at the little stump that'd made her life miserable ever since she'd left the battlefield, the blonde allowed herself a small, proud smile, wiggling free of the blankets her limbs were tangled up in. She flailed a bit, swearing out loud when she attempted to steady her body with a hand that wasn't there and ended up hitting the floor instead, blood instantly pouring from her nose on the impact.

Whimpering under her breath, Naruto went about slowly righting herself, curling inwards with one dainty hand pressed up against the nose that currently dyeing her shirt a new shade of crimson. Tears gathered in the corner of her eyes as she was forced to click the broken nose back into place, or have it remain forever crooked. Or, until she broke it again, one of two options.

Even with Kurama asleep, her healing factor was still at an all time high. The blood was already clotting. It was times like this she thanked the high heavens she had Kurama's company. She'd once given Kiba a gusher of a nose bleed, and it'd taken fifteen minutes for the blood to stop. It barely took fifteen seconds for her lifeblood to slow.

Still though, it was enough blood to ruin her sleeping shirt, so with a grimaced the blonde tugged the material up and over her head, throwing the shirt into the plastic wash basket that Sakura had bought. All in an attempt to keep her apartment someone clean, but Naruto wasn't too sure how long it'd hold up. She didn't have a problem cleaning, it was finding the time to do so.

Up until very recently, she'd had far more pressing matters on her mind.

Stood in the middle of her apartment, Naruto twisted back and forth, considering what she wanted to wear today. Going to her operation in her ninja gear just seemed tacky. But, she really didn't want to dress up in a sundress either. As Pein's invasion had reduced Konoha -and thus, her previous apartment and all within- to a dust bowl, she'd not had anything other than the clothes on her back after coming out of that fight.

Ever since, she'd been busy, preparing for war, facing one challenge after the other. It was Sakura who'd gone out and bought her clothes, who'd found the time to make sure Naruto would have a life to come back to after war. It made her feel war inside.

While the two of them had gotten off to a rocky start, what with her younger self not understanding that perhaps not all girls were interested in both girls and guys as she was, Sakura was now her best friend. The pink haired girl had gone out of her way to understand her, to really get to know her. Especially after the training trip with Jiraiya.

Scratching at her bare breast, the blonde snatched up the only casual shirt she owned, a burnt orange top that hung loose once it'd passed over her breasts, only just covering her stomach with its short length. It was her most comfortable shirt outside of her ninja gear, and coupled with the ripped denim shorts Tenten-chan had left the night she'd stayed over, Naruto felt it was her best choice of outfit when she considered what she'd be doing today.

For a moment, she wondered where Itachi was, but then looking down at her bare chest, she flushed slightly. At least he hadn't been here to see her make a complete idiot of herself, falling out of bed as she had. How embarrassing.

Especially for a ninja of her now fabulous reputation.

Saviour of the world. Defeated by a particularly clingy blanket.

Yeah, when she was compared to Uchiha Itachi, who'd been ANBU Captain at thirteen, well, she ended up looking particularly graceless then. Best he not have seen such an episode.

Letting out a sigh, Naruto brushed her hair back from her face, tracing the whisker like birthmarks that rested upon her skin before she finally turned on heel, heading for the bathroom.

.

When she returned, it was to the ghost of an S-ranked ninja slouched across her couch, staring up at the ceiling with dead black eyes. Naruto froze in place where she was tugging her shirt down over her stomach, her heart beating thunderously in her chest for a second.

Had Itachi died-died in her apartment?! His ghostly corpse wasn't going to be sticking around, was it? Because she couldn't touch it, couldn't move it, dead god, she'd have to move out of the apartment she'd just broken in.

But no, his head angled slightly at the sound of her approach, eyes instantly flashing away from her form and Naruto realized her stomach wasn't fully covered yet. Huh. Polite.

Smoothing the shirt out fully, the blonde made her way to the kitchenette, feeling a small pang in her stomach. Because Itachi was a ghost and couldn't eat, couldn't enjoy the pleasure that was food.

"My apologies for interrupting your morning routine Naruto-chan, but I'm afraid this couldn't wait."

Lifting her gaze from the simple fry up that she was halfway through preparing, Naruto blinked, scanning the older ninja's face curiously. Itachi's low, smooth voice had held a little more- a little something that it didn't usually have. Not quite an emotion, more like the afterglow of one. One that wasn't too pleasant either.

"What's up Itachi?"

The man in question let out a low sigh, looking back over at her with black eyes so dead it rooted Naruto to the spot for a moment.

"Sasuke has decided to go and search for his own answers. He wishes to leave the village for some time, and your sensei, as the elected Sixth Hokage, gave him official permission not twenty minutes ago. He leaves in an hour."

Naruto felt like someone had sucker punched her in the stomach.

Sasuke, Sasuke was leaving? But she'd just got him back, he wasn't allowed to go running off and leave her all alone again.

"That's crazy! The idiot just got back damnit!"

Naruto wasn't aware that she'd even started heading for the door before an uncanny feeling exploded in his wrist, prompting a flinch from the blonde. She looked down in time to see Itachi retracting his hand, clearing having attempted to take hold of her, but stopped as a result of his incorporeal form. Urgh, that was really, really not pleasant. The both of them were quiet for a second, staring down at their limbs before finally Naruto grimaced, shaking her arm back and forth in an attempt to free herself of that dreadful feeling.

"Urgh, don't do that again!"

"Please sit down and finish your breakfast Naruto-chan, you have the time to do so."

Staring at the dark haired man, Naruto grudgingly sat herself down at the kitchen table, digging into the food she'd been preparing just a few minutes ago. Across from her, Itachi stood -she hoped he was stood, she really couldn't deal with floating right now- looking somewhat uncomfortable at having so clearly invaded her personal space.

"Why is Kakashi letting him go?" Naruto finally murmured, eyes downcast as she rolled the sausage about on her plate with her fork, scowling to herself as she did so. She couldn't wait until she had both arms again. No more of this having to cut all your food up before stabbing at it with a fork business. She'd be able to do both at the same time soon enough, as long as Tsunade came through for her. And the old woman had never let Naruto down when it counted before.

"Sasuke feels he needs time to find himself. I do believe you asked Tsunade-sama for the same thing just yesterday in fact."

Scowling, Naruto gave the Uchiha the one fingered salute moments before she picked up her plate, forcing herself not to snicker as the absolutely stunned look on Itachi's face. As if he'd been expecting her to act like a lady or something. For the first time Naruto found she didn't think of crows when she looked at him in that second, but rather a wide eye barn owl that'd just woken up for the first time.

Snorting, the blonde dropped the plate in the sink to be washed at a later time, when she had both arms again. Instead, she twisted on heel, searching out the scratched headband she'd kept on her at all times until the end of the war, when she'd thrown it into her bedside cabinet draw.

"Is that-"

"Sasuke's headband," Naruto finished, standing up and dusting off the seat of her pants with the back of her hand, fingers till curled around the cool metal.

"I gotta make sure he's got it on him before he runs off after all!"

.

Watching Sasuke walk away down the dirt path, sans one arm, Naruto tried to swallow around the lump that'd formed in her throat. Sakura was beside her, having asked to go with the boy, but had been turned down.

Naruto understood the need for solitude, at least, on a rudimentary level. She'd never have been able to go without talking to somebody for as long as Sasuke planned to though. Going on her adventure, going out into the world to help Itachi move on, was different. Because she'd never be alone, she had Kurama and the older Uchiha brother after all. Or at least-

"You are coming with me, right?" Naruto asked, cocking her head back to look at the ghost that was gliding along beside her. Naruto grimaced. No one should be able to move that smoothly. No one. Even if you were an ANBU Captain, it's like his feet were touching the ground. Oh…. Never mind.

"For a while Naruto-chan."

Scowling to herself, the whiskered blonde skipped after Sakura, watching as the pink haired girl turned around to smile at her. Deep purple bruising rested beneath her sharp green eyes; Sakura was tired.

Guilt gnawed at the edges of Naruto's consciousness, but she determinedly pushed past it. Sakura knew she was at her limit, she was a responsible shinobi, a responsible medic nin. She'd know when to stop, Naruto trusted her on that account. It'd taken her a long while to accept that not everyone had the same kind of stamina as what she did. Hell, back in the academy she'd been running rings around the girls, the boys and even their teachers when it came to stamina tests.

If there was one thing she'd been good at from the start, it was endurance. No one had been able to take that away from her, to force her to unlearn that skill.

"Are you ready for the surgery Naruto?"

Looking down at the offending stump, the blonde in question offered Sakura a teasing grin.

"This arm will match right? It's not going to be some weedy looking thing next to this arm right?"

Flexing her remaining upper limb until it dragged a smile from the medic, Naruto let her own grin grow, bumping her hips into Sakura's and laughing when the girl returned the gesture and almost threw her completely off balance.

Eyes dancing back to look at Itachi, who was watching with his face completely blank, Naruto felt her grin fade slightly at the sight. She could read the sorrow in his face, and for a moment, she remember what he had told her of Uchiha Shisui. He had to miss his best friend, that much was obvious. Naruto had no idea what she'd do without Sakura.

"Now remember, we're going to give you a gown for surgery, Tsunade-sama is doing it herself. You will be put under for the duration of the operation, are you okay with that?"

Grumbling under her breath, Naruto gave a sharp, short nod, following the pinkette into the hospital. It was one of the most furnished buildings, mainly done out of necessity.

"Yeah yeah, this arm will complete me Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's fist coming down on Naruto's head was the last thing she remembered. When Sakura had said she'd be putting her under, Naruto had rather been hoping it'd be a bit more technical than that.

.

Four limbs twitched when Naruto requested them to do so.

Eyes popping open, the blue eyed teen stared down at the fourth limb that was now attached to her person with something resembling awe. It was a pasty white would probably remain a pasty white forever more. But Naruto wasn't too bothered about her appearance. She'd wrap it up in bandages and be done with it.

Oh, she cared if she got a pimple on her face -ninja's did not get pimples, not super awesome ninja's like her anyway- but caring about the fact one arm was now lighter than the other?

Never.

Running the new fingertips across the bed sheets, Naruto was pleased that the sensations remained the same as what they were in her original hand. Tsunade had really done an excellent job with this fake limb.

Wiggling the fingers back and forth, Naruto let out a joyous little giggle at the motion she was now able to complete. Not even the unnaturalness of the white hand would upset her right now. This was perfect. She'd say it was well worth the wait, but Naruto hated waiting for anything in general, so that'd be a lie.

Still though, an arm. Two arms, she was a complete human being again.

Laughing, she reached out for the glass of water, then startled when the fake arm faulted on the move, unbalancing her enough that Naruto tumbled out of bed.

Grumbling, the blonde pulled the rumpled hospital gown back down so that it was covering her rear, standing up and reaching for the water with her good arm.

Okay, so she wasn't quite in sync with this arm just yet. She'd figure it out as she went.

The empty glass hit the wooden table with a crisp 'thunk' as Naruto placed it back down, eyes lingering on the paperwork that resting on the bedside cabinet. Slowly, she removed that from the wooden surface, flicking through the sheets in her grasp.

One was an official looking document that stated one 'Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto was currently recognised by the Fifth Hokage as a travelling nin of Konoha'. Another was her paper passport, though when this recent looking photo had been taken, the blonde was unsure off. The final paper was a note from her much beloved 'baa-chan', informing her that she would most certainly be keeping an ear to the ground while she was out and about, and so help her if Naruto caused any trouble.

Laughing, the whiskered teen made her way over to the chair where her pre-operation clothes rested, stripping herself of the hospital gown as she did so. She was almost ready to travel. She had packed the night before, and now she'd only need to change into her ninja gear and then she'd be set to go off out into the open world.

It was only when Naruto opened the window to make her exit that she realized she didn't exactly have a destination in mind. Kurama would know what to do about this, but right now, he was… Sleeping.

Then again, the other Bijū were out and about, they were applicable sources she could contact. The three tails seemed to be the most reasonable of the lot, but Naruto didn't have the slightest clue where Isobu could be right now. Which meant she had to go track down another Bijū to find out his location.

Luckily enough, she knew just that one.

.

Shouldering her pack, Naruto looked down at the orange tracksuit top that Jiraiya had given her. She'd grown now, just a few inches but enough that it no longer looked oversized on her frame. However, she couldn't quite zip it all the way up, not without overstretching the material anyway.

Scowling, Naruto looked down at her breasts, breasts she'd almost been sure were not to make an appearance at any stage in her life. She'd not really grown that much on the training trip with Jiraiya, just enough to be noticeably female, but not, like, curves. It seemed, however, ever since her return to the Leaf they'd been steadily growing, sneaking up on her until suddenly bam! She had baps almost as big as Hinata's. Only, Hinata's hands down had the best chest of their generation.

Though, judging by her current size, it seemed Naruto had stolen Ino's title of second best boobs.

Chuckling under her breath, Naruto cupped her chest for a second, not quite able to keep the pleased smile off her face. Her mother had been curvy as well, so she was pretty damn happy to see she'd gotten at least one feature from the woman, aside from her temper that was.

Pulling down the black shirt she now wore whilst keeping her jacket open, Naruto lugged her backpack up onto her shoulder before brushing her bangs back from her face. She was ready to go, ready to go find the information she needed and ready to help Itachi out. It was only fair to return the favour after all.

Strolling out of her apartment, she closed the door and locked it, bidding the room a goodbye before making her way down the corridor.

.

It was just as she was nearing the gate that Sakura caught up to her.

"You're leaving too Naruto?" The pinkette looked devastated, Ino beside her not looking that much happier either. Pushing down the wave that felt suspiciously like guilt, the whiskered blonde offered a nervous grin, rubbing sheepishly at the back of her head.

"I need to go and check on all the Bijū, make sure they're all doing okay wherever they'd decided to hunker down since the war. I was gonna stop at the other villages on my way around… Do you want anything will I'm passing through?" Naruto bought almost all of her stuff from Konoha, she only had a few knickknacks that she'd gotten as mementos from little villages and towns she'd visited with Jiraiya. Stuff to keep the memory of the places she'd been. It was, a, well, habit she'd picked up over time.

Sakura blinked, but Ino was quick to take her up on her offer.

"Oh, can you get so some of Suna's skin moisturizer? They have the best stuff in the nations but it's super expensive to import."

Nodding slowly, Naruto turned her gaze to her green eyed best friend, absentmindedly noting that Itachi had appeared at some point throughout their conversation.

"Do you really have to go Naruto?"

"I- erm, yeah… It's important to me Sakura-chan, but I promise I'll be back soon!"

Arms wrapped around her shoulders and Naruto blinked, before slowly encircling Sakura's waist with her own.

"Just be careful you big lug. Just because you beat a goddess doesn't make you unbreakable." She poked her false arm as if to make her point and Naruto scowled, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"I'll be careful, that's the promise of a lifetime! And I'll get you a pretty dress or something from Mist. I saw you eyeing the Mizukage's outfit."

Sakura scowled, a light blush dusting her face as Naruto laughed, waving to the duo and bouncing away down the dirt path. It wasn't until she was out of sight that she slowly, adjusting the straps of her pack and looking back over at Itachi.

"Ready to come meet some Bijū with me? I promise they're friendly!"

* * *

There was something he was missing here, that much Itachi was sure of.

Uzumaki Naruto was a lot of things, but a liar, a secret keeper, she was not. The girl was so painfully obvious when it came to the fact she was planning something. She was the type of person who wore her heart on her sleeve, showcased what she felt on her face.

He'd seen the way her features had dropped slightly when her teammate had asked if she had to go. She didn't feel one hundred percent right about having to leave the Leaf Village to travel around and discovering answers about the world, about herself. Naruto was sure of herself, just as she was sure of the fact she could and would mould the world into something better. Something greater than it already was.

And she made those around her believe in her too.

Frowning, Itachi continued walking alongside the girl as she babbled on about the Bijū she'd met during the way, almost skipping along. The twin tails of her blonde hair snapped about at the movement, her open jacket fluttering around slightly as she gestured wildly with her left arm to explain her tale better.

It really didn't fit Naruto's character to leave the Leaf Village as it was now. It was still rebuilding, it was post war and even if the other villages had declared a tentative peace, it was still as fragile as a newborn infant. Tender and very, very easily broken.

Still, Itachi was pleased to see that peace was indeed possible, that it wasn't a dream and completely untouchable. This was the start of a new age, and he was honoured to have witnessed it in person… So to speak.

Looking over at Naruto upon noticing the lack of noise, Itachi raised a brow at the girl's ace, which was scrunched up in consideration. He knew that they'd been on the same side during the war, and she'd accepted his alliance then, but for her to now treat him so openly when before he'd been part of the group threatening to end her life; well, she was taking it all far better than he thought.

"Where will you be travelling to first Naruto-chan?"

The girl blinked at him, startled blue eyes focused on his face for a second and he didn't miss the slight fear that leaked into those orbs. It wasn't fear of him, per say, but more of what he was.

A ghost, unable to move on, unable to find peace in his death. Barred forever from the Pure World where his loved ones waited for him. He hoped they were waiting, he still wished to make amends with his parents, to speak to Shisui on this new peace that'd appeared within the Elemental Nations.

But it appeared such a thing was not on the cards for him.

"I think I'm gonna go meet up with Bee, see how Cloud's doing, maybe talk with Gyūki while I'm there, seeing as my Bijū is sleeping on the job," Naruto frowned, poking at her own stomach, as if such a crude method would awaken the fox that resided in her.

Smiling slightly at the motion, Itachi turned his gaze to the sky, mind already whirling.

Naruto wanted to talk to the Bijū about something. That much was obvious. She'd unintentionally implied such a thing with her words, the unspoken words that she needed to talk to a Bijū and that her own was inaccessible to her right now.

With the Nine Tails sleeping, this left her with little choice but then to approach the only other remaining Jinchuriki, seeing the only other option was to track down one of the now roaming Tailed Beasts. Chasing down one of the Bijū, who had no doubt gone into hiding for a bit to recover from the events of the Fourth Ninja War, would have taken much more effort than to go after the one that she had a verified location on.

The only question that went unanswered was why Naruto wanted to track down a Bijū, what questions she had for them? Now that the war was over with, now that she'd had time to process all the information that'd been dumped upon her thin shoulders, the blonde clearly had a few questions that only Bijū could answer.

The only thing was, Itachi didn't know what kind of questions she had to ask.

Obviously something that only a Tailed Beast would know, otherwise she'd have gone looking for another source that wasn't so far away from Konoha.

Naruto loved the Leaf, that much was evident. She wouldn't be going so far from its boarders right now unless she felt like she had to do something, something that only she could do. Hence, something related to the Bijū. Perhaps he would be able to tease the reason out of her with a bit of conversation? Naruto, as stated earlier, was no secret keeper. She'd end up spilling her reasoning shortly.

"I have never been to Kumo."

It was a true enough statement. He'd come close before, but never actually been within the it's walls as he had every other Hidden Village in the Elemental Nations.

Naruto paused where she was walking, rubbing at her chin with her artificial arm before she seemed to realize what the appendage was doing and forced it to retreat. Clearly she was still unsure of the bandages that wrapped around the unnatural white skin beneath.

"I haven't been in any of the other Hidden Villages come to think of it… No, wait! I've been to Suna! But I never really got to stop and look around."

Pouting, Naruto squinted slightly as she looked towards the setting sun, a smile steadily spreading across her face.

"Well, maybe if I don't get the answers I need here than we can stop by others while I track down another Bijū!"

Grinning, the blonde leapt up into the trees, rocketing off and picking up speed as she went, clearly much more motivated.

Not that Itachi had the slightest of inclinations as to what had set off this reaction.

Regardless, he'd gotten a bit of an answer now. Naruto wasn't looking for answers when it came to herself, or how the other villages worked, or even about peace. She was looking specifically for something only a Bijū could answer. And it wasn't something she was expecting all the Bijū to know about.

So it was something rather obscure of a topic then.

But what could have possibly drawn Naruto away from the village, what could she consider more important than sticking around to watch Konoha being rebuilt?

True there was little chance of the village being attacked, because all the villages were still in the same state at this moment in time. But there was still the slightest of chances of some mercenary group attempting to push their luck…

Grimacing over his own thoughts, Itachi accepted the fact he was indeed paranoid. The ninja of the Leaf would be able to handle such an attack without Naruto. Hatake Kakashi remained, as did Tsunade herself and her apprentice.

In truth, he just didn't want to leave the village behind. He'd spent so much time away from it, so much time on the run and unable to walk it's welcoming streets; he missed it. on a similar train of thought though, he was uneased with the idea of leaving Naruto's side too.

For the first few days as a ghost, he'd been content. Nothing hurt, illness was not ravaging his body because there was no body to ravage. It just was, he just was. And it'd been one of the most pleasant experiences he'd felt in the past few years. He'd come to accept he'd be unable to do anything other than watch. Until Naruto saw him, until Naruto reacted to him. Now..

He didn't want to go back to being unacknowledged. It was suppose to be the way of the ninja, the ideals of self-sacrifice. But this sacrifice held no meaning, no reasoning. No one would benefit if he remained in the Leaf with no one to talk to.

On the other hand, if he remained with Naruto, he could at the very least help her out, considering she was not, well, the sharpest kunai in the packet.

While it was true he was a ninja, he also happened to be human. And he was tired of denying that part of himself now.

He'd sacrificed everything in life in order to keep his brother, his village, safe. In death, he supposed he could afford himself the bubbly company of Uzumaki Naruto.

Until she requested he leave, he'd remain for now. He did not wish to look back on this time hundreds of years in the future, when there would be no one to talk to his ghostly form, and regret not taking advantage of the one human he could interact with. He would aid Naruto in her mission for answers, seeing as she had accomplished the only thing he'd ever strived for. The safety of both his brother and his village.

"Sure you can keep up Itachi?"

Looking to the blonde haired girl that was bouncing from branch to branch, the Uchiha graced her with a small smile, floating effortlessly beside her.

"I highly doubt I will tire in this state Naruto-chan, but you are welcome to try."

* * *

 **Mmmm, chapter here. Not much to say I don't think...**

 **.**

 **Coming up next chapter;**

 _In which a group of fools pick the wrong traveller to rob from and Naruto comes to the conclusion that Itachi is an incredible source of information._

 **Tsume  
xxx**


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